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WASHINGTON -- Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, a four-star general who served as a top adviser to three presidents and had presidential ambitions of his own, died Saturday of complications from an infection, his family said. He was 85.

Haig's long and decorated military career launched the Washington career for which he is better known, including top posts in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations. He never lived down his televised response to the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.

Hours after the shooting, then Secretary of State Haig went before the cameras intending, he said later, to reassure Americans that the White House was functioning.

"As of now, I am in control here in the White House, pending the return of the vice president," Haig said.

Some saw the comment as an inappropriate power grab in the absence of Vice President Bush, who was flying back to Washington from Texas.

Haig died at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where he was surrounded by his family, according to two of his children, Alexander and Barbara. A hospital spokesman, Gary Stephenson, said Haig died at about 1:30 a.m.

In his book, "Caveat," Haig later wrote that he had been "guilty of a poor choice of words and optimistic if I had imagined I would be forgiven the imprecision out of respect for the tragedy of the occasion."

He had a long career and served his country both in the military and as a civilian. It's good that his family was with him when he passed.

You know, he always had to live down that quote after Reagan's shooting, when he actually was making a factual statement-until VP Bush got back to the White House, he was in charge of the executive wing, at least. The news coverage of Reagan's shooting was totally out of control. I was watching ABC, after school, and Frank Reynolds at one point declared that the president was dead. Gen. Haig was in a position where he didn't want the public to start panicking. He was the highest-ranking guy in the White House at the time.

I didn't remember anyone declaring Reagan dead; I was watching the TV when Dan Rather announced that James Brady had died. Fortunately, he was wrong.

I was watching my stories on ABC, and my brother joined in when they broke to cover the assassination attempt. The white haired guy on ABC said that the president had died, then he took it back a few minutes later. Maybe his name wasn't Frank Reynolds?